samedi 31 juillet 2010

The Palestinian refugee camps which are present in most cities of the West Bank and the Gaza strip are precarious pieces of urbanism similar to slums that host the village population that was living on the territory that was given to Israel in 1948 by the United Nations. Duheisha is one of those camps in Bethlehem hosting currently around 10 000 people.The main problem with refugee camps is that every new building, construction, renovation are ratifications of the situation and seen as a resignation to it. The architecture developed there is thus very handmade, almost accidental sometimes but creates a surprising form of beauty.

12 commentaires:

For some reason, these pictures remind me of Cambodian water villages. To risk trivializing the situation, wouldn't it be interesting if Palestinian urbanism developed into a new form of nomadism? Limited by restrictive Israeli zoning laws and avoiding the implications of fixed structures, buildings could become permanent temporary structures like boats or yurts, ready to float away whether fleeing Israeli bulldozers or returning to rightful lands.

Thank you John for taking part of a narrative that, to my opinion, should be as pragmatic sometimes as fantastic some other time.

Eyal, thanks for your message. My email address is llambertATpratt.edu if you want to contact you.I did not have much time to look at your project but each brick is obviously important in this fight. Don't hesitate to send me an email.